Emako The Student Ghost
by hemerocallis
Summary: After Emako is killed by Professor Quirrell/Voldemort, she remains at Hogwarts determined to protect her twin, Harry Potter, and her boyfriend, Draco Malfoy. The initial story in this series, Emako The Red-Headed Twin, is published on this fanfic site. We pick up the story in Harry Potter's second Hogwarts year, through the eyes of Emako as narrator.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer and author's note** : All of the characters, plot, and settings from the Harry Potter canon are the copyright protected property of J.K. Rowling. I thank her for allowing fanfics such as this one to be published on this fanfic site. The new characters and plot in this story belong to me. This story is a follow-on to "Emako the Red-Headed Twin", which can be found on this site.

I won't waste your time or mine by repeating descriptions of characters, settings, and events, which have been described by Ms. Rowling. I have not described Emako, other than to say that she looks exactly like same-aged Lily Evans, which brings us back to Ms. Rowling's descriptions. On this site is the first Emako story: Emako the Red-Haired Twin. It's short and covers the Philosopher's Stone year.

Also on this site is my initial Harry Potter series "Harry Potter Finally Graduates", of which parts 1-3 are finished and Part 4 is in progress. All of these stories take place after Harry Potter slays/facilitates the death of Voldemort.

 **Emako The Student Ghost**

 **Chapter One – A Summer Without Twin Or Friends**

I spoke to both Harry and Draco after my memorial service. They sat together, along with Ron and Hermione and the Marcon twins. I was beginning to see Headmaster Dumbledore as a potential ally, but still less than totally convinced that he wouldn't try to do me harm.

I had spent the memorial service surrounded by Peeves, the Bloody Baron, and Nearly Headless Nick. They promised to keep me safe and to train me up to be a proper ghost. More immediately, they agreed to be my voice for what to me were heart-rending and extremely vital meetings with those most important to me, before they must depart Hogwarts for the summer.

Spending the entire memorial service hovering above the lawn in front of the main entrance had weakened me. The Baron and Nick helped me back into the castle, while Peeves arranged my meetings. I met Draco first, waiting for him at our black sofa in the Slytherin common room.

"I'm sorry that I can't actually touch you, my love. I shall try to remain here as your friend for as long as you are at Hogwarts. I promise to do my best to become visible to you and to be able to speak so that you can understand me. For now, you must not interrupt the Baron. I have much to do before all of you board the Express and not a lot of energy to do it. I have two messages. First, you should know that it was Snape who poisoned you. He wanted to be my boyfriend when I graduated Hogwarts and he saw you as a rival. Please don't give me away, but know he is your enemy. I have made a peace with Dumbledore. I think him not as guilty as I once did. Don't worry, I will stay on my guard. Second, I want you to find a new girlfriend, someone who is fully alive. I cannot insist, but it would make me very happy if it was someone not named Pansy. Be very careful this summer and keep Harry safe. The Death Eaters will know that you and I almost killed Voldemort. Now you talk. I can listen perfectly well."

"This is so hard. I'm not ready for another girlfriend. I still love you. I know that I will at least need to speak to you and it is just too awkward doing that through the Baron. I promise to look after Harry."

My meeting with the twins was quick and easy. I told them to take my bed, because it had far stronger charms than theirs. Pansy and her allies might want retribution for the twins being my friends. They promised to be careful. I told them both that I would be very pleased if one of them became Draco's new girlfriend. I said they could trust him.

My farewell with Harry went surprisingly well. I rested upon his head as I spoke through Nick. I told him about Snape and reminded him that Lucius Malfoy probably was a Death Eater. I trusted him not to get himself Imperiused, but he must be checked out as soon as he returned to Hogwarts. Most importantly, he must avoid finding any proof that Lucius was evil. That would be far too dangerous for himself and Draco. He must keep his eyes and ears open, avoid snooping, and pretend not to have observed most of what he saw and heard.

I told Hermione that I would need her best thoughts on how I could best use my ghostly abilities to keep her and Harry safe. I chose not to meet with Ron.

I watched them all leave from my perch near the entry door. I was too weak to trail them outside. Nick lured me to the Gryffindor common room as soon as my friends left the castle. It was obvious that he was trying to keep me amused and not too sad.

Nick urged me to begin my program of summer instruction right away. Clearly he was distracting me from the sadness of watching Harry and Draco disappear for the summer, but he also had a lot to teach me. I didn't know the simplest things, like how to sleep properly.

"We ghosts recharge while we sleep. We can draw energy from Hogwarts' magical charms and other defenses. I often sleep inside the rock arch at the entry door. Just as we can pass through a stone wall, we also can stop inside. It is most invigorating. It does take practice. Novice ghosts have been trapped for days. It's easier to pass through a wall than it is to start moving from a dead stop inside one. We'll start slowly. Since we are already in Gryffindor, you should sleep in Harry's bed. Dumbledore has it totally covered in charms."

I thanked Nick and went right to bed. I was totally drained. Harry's bed comforted me with the echo of his recent presence. I slept for eighteen hours and awoke refreshed. I found that Nick had stayed to guard me.

"You look much stronger," he informed me, "strong enough to try sitting inside a stone. I prefer the keystone of the entry arch. It is one of the most magical spots in the castle."

Nick flitted ahead of me, leading me to his favorite resting spot.

"The stone at the very top of the arch is our target. Follow me. We are going to move through the stone more slowly than we normally would."

I followed him. It was harder to move slowly and I almost became stuck, just as I was leaving the stone.

"The trick is to keep pushing all the way through. You can't relax. Follow me again. We're going to move half as fast this time."

At least it wasn't twice as hard, but it certainly wasn't easy. Nick said I had worked enough for the morning. Dumbledore wished to see me. He was in his office.

Nick and I just drifted through the wall into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was leaning forward above his desk as he slowly added words to a parchment scroll.

"She's here," Nick announced, causing Dumbledore to snap upright.

"I have a present for you Emako. Since your spirit was still inside Hogwarts, I didn't bury your wand with your body. I thought perhaps you might get some use from it. You are almost unique as a very young Witch turned ghost, while still retaining her wild magic. I don't know if you've met Myrtle. She was our youngest ghost, prior to yourself. She died at the end of her third year, so her wild magic was totally extinguished by wand training. She still might be able to help you. Of equal importance, I think you can help her. She needs to be coaxed out of her bathroom.

"To find a young Witch who died young enough to retain her wild magic, you'd have to go all the way back to 1492. Hajar Alaoui came to Hogwarts as her parents fled the Inquisition. That was a bad time to be either a Witch or a Moor in Spain. Her parents tried to hide her, but the strength of her raw magic was impossible to hide. She was whisked to Hogwarts within days of her family arriving in Italy.

"The headmaster helped her to direct her raw magic. Unfortunately, she did not find safety at Hogwarts. Taunted mercilessly by the Slytherins and generally ignored by her fellow Gryffindors, she jumped from the Astronomy tower at the end of her first month. Her wild magic was still so strong that she flew several hundred yards and climbed to a thousand feet, before striking the magical barriers and falling to her death. Her ghostly spirit graced this school for over four hundred years and she is said to be the most powerful ghost ever to inhabit Hogwarts."

"What happened to Hajar?"

"She grew powerful enough to easily travel beyond Hogwarts and chose to return to her old world. She is back in the former Moorish section of Spain, where she haunts the Alhambra, but I saw her here at Hogwarts a dozen years ago. She wanted to discuss Voldemort. He worried her. Most of what I've learned about your potential I was taught by Hajar. Professor McGonagall is on her way to Spain. My hope is that Hajar will agree to share her knowledge with you. Until then, I will teach you to the best of my ability. First, you must learn as much as you can from your fellow Hogwarts ghosts. I think you must be as substantial as the other ghosts to benefit from my teaching."

Nick summoned the Baron. Together, they managed to transport my wand atop the frame of a portrait of a shriveled old gent mounted high on the wall next to the Gryffindor portal. I thanked them, but they refused to leave me until I did more practicing. This time they demanded that I dislodge a portrait using my pushback magic. I tried. I tried really hard. I did succeed in nudging the portrait a half inch out of alignment on my third attempt, but it was downhill from there. I returned to Harry's bed for a nap.

It took three weeks until I learned to stop and sleep inside a stone, without requiring three ghosts to push me back out of the stone. Another week had me moving the portrait a full inch out of skew. I was feeling more comfortable as a ghost. Dumbledore said he could sort of see me if he squinted in just the right light. I could speak to him directly, without the help of another ghost.

The Baron made a startling suggestion: I could sleep inside Dumbledore's head and soak up energy from the greatest living Wizard, himself. This struck me as extremely rude. I remembered how violently I had thrown Dumbledore's prying tendrils out of my mind.

"No, I won't do it. It's wrong and it's icky."

"It will establish a closer bond between you and Dumbledore. He will see and hear you better and you will boost your power."

"No!"

"Please, at least ask his permission to give it a try."

I was surprised when Dumbledore agreed. It was surprisingly easy to do. We ghosts can scrunch ourselves down into a smaller and more concentrated package, but we are still too thin to damage our sleeping spot. Just like a fog drifting in one ear and out the other, which sounds nicer than what I actually did, which was to enter by way of Dumbledore's right nostril. I felt cozy and I gained strength. I did not eavesdrop on Dumbledore's thoughts. I'm not sure I would have been able to do so had I tried. I felt that to try would be very dishonest.

I felt stronger the next morning and Dumbledore complimented me on my increased materiality. "I can actually see that your hair is red and your eyes green. You are well on your way to becoming a proper ghost. Now, you can return my favor and help Myrtle."

I traveled on my own to the Moaning Myrtle bathroom. My fellow ghosts advised me that Myrtle chose not to associate with them. Peeves insulted Myrtle years ago and she had sulked in her bathroom and its plumbing ever since.

My voice was still too quiet to summon Myrtle. I recruited Nick to help. Nick called for Myrtle. When she showed up, obviously upset that Nick had entered her territory Nick just said "we have a new female ghost who would like to meet you. Dumbledore sent her. I will leave you. I know when I'm not wanted."

"You're barely visilble, but I can tell that you were very young when you died."

"First year. I was Avada Kedavraed at the end of term. It was Quirrell and Voldemort. I saved my twin and I am determined to hang around Hogwarts for six more years to keep him safe. I need to turn myself into a real ghost, before Harry returns. Dumbledore thought we might be able to help each other."

That apparently was the wrong thing to say. Myrtle became very agitated. "No! This and the other baths are my home. I have tried to leave. I was always teased. The students and other ghosts enjoyed making me cry. I'm safe here. You can visit me, but I'm safe in here and I won't come out. Tell that to Dumbledore. He thinks I'm a simple girl who can be persuaded how wrong she is. I know what's best for me. I will help you, if you wish."

"Thank you. You and I are the only ghosts who died at Hogwarts as students. I think we may be different from the others in some way. I want to become more solid. I have to be stronger and more solid if I am to help Harry."

"I'm sorry, but mainly it takes time. It was three years after I died that anyone noticed I was here. Even then, Peeves mocked me as not quite substantial enough and certainly not brave enough to be a real ghost. It was five years until I became as you see me. The other ghosts say that you must sleep within highly charmed stones to gain strength, but I know that magic is very strong in this room. Moving through stone does build strength, but so does moving through the pipes. Would you like me to show you? None of the other ghosts enter the piping. It's my private kingdom, but I'm willing to share with you. If you learn to travel the pipes, you can watch all the boys as they take their baths. That's so much fun."

I didn't think I'd be spying on the boys like that, but I told Myrtle that I certainly wanted to explore the piping and eagerly accepted Myrtle's offer. She informed me that we entered the land of pipes by simply diving through the toilet bowl. I followed her. I didn't have to push as hard as I did when I passed through a wall, but this was constant effort and eventually I became very tired. I was about to tell Myrtle that I couldn't go on, when we popped up in a very fancy bath.

"Prefect's bath," Myrtle told me. "The cutest older boys bathe here. You have to learn to find this room on your own. It's the most fun you can have as a ghost. I guess since you travel the corridors, you could just pass through the wall. You can do that when you leave, so you'll know how to find your way back if you can't travel by pipe. You look a little faint. Did I tire you out?"

Yes, I'm pooped. I'm going to go sleep in Harry's bed.

"See me tomorrow in my bathroom. The more you swim the pipes, the stronger you will become. I didn't start long distance pipe journeys until I had been a ghost for two years. Had I started earlier I think I could have taken this form much quicker."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two – Myrtle Is A Lot Deeper Than I Thought**

As the rest of the summer flashed past, I worked as hard as I could to make myself into a proper ghost by the time that Harry and Draco returned to Hogwarts. Myrtle and I traveled the pipes every other day. As I built my strength she took me farther and farther from her bath room. Eventually, we traveled all the way to the main drain, the Goblin water treatment system, and out to the lake. We swam underwater and chatted with the merpeople. We delighted in their beautiful song. It had been a near perfect trip, but I felt too tired to return through the plumbing.

"I can't make it," I confessed to Myrtle. "I'd die half-way back through the piping if I made the attempt. I enjoyed our visit with the merpeople, but I'm not as strong as you are."

Myrtle chatted with one of the merpeople, then returned to tell me "she gives permission for you to sleep within her head. I'll wait while you regain your strength. I'm sorry – you are sometimes so enthusiastic that I forget what a young and unformed ghost you are."

It was easy to enter the merperson's head. I did not intrude upon her thoughts. I don't know how long I slept, but I awoke refreshed and able to follow Myrtle back through the piping. I immediately said goodbye and thank you to Myrtle and went off to sleep in Draco's bed. My stamina is not yet what it needs to be.

On the days I wasn't with Myrtle, I was practicing with Nick and the Baron. I meandered slowly within the walls of the castle. I slept in the most magical of the stones. I practiced the pushback with my wand. I almost succeeded in knocking a portrait from the wall. I wasn't a real ghost yet, but I was making great progress. The thoughts of wanting to be seen by Harry and Draco and wanting to be strong enough to act to protect them kept me working to the point of exhaustion.

I slept in Dumbledore's head about once a week. I would never spy on Dumbledore from inside his head, by I wanted to know if this was possible. I made a note to invade Snape as he slept and see if I could steal his thoughts and dreams. There was no reason I could not stay in a person's head after he and I both awoke.

Dumbledore was determined that I must travel outside the castle. We got together once a week and he escorted me on longer and longer walks, initially within the grounds, but finally all the way to Hogsmeade. Dumbledore said that I was making remarkable progress. He was very pleased that Myrtle and I had become friends. He realized that it would be very difficult for me to convince Myrtle to associate with the other ghosts, but that she at least seemed happier. He said that Hogwarts had another very sad female ghost and that perhaps I could work my special magic with the Grey Lady. "Youthful enthusiasm is such a wonderful and energizing thing," he told me.

"Most of our ghosts are very, very old. In a very real sense they are the true guardians of Hogwarts, having been here far longer than any professor or headmaster. The Grey Lady has been at Hogwarts since the school was founded over a thousand years ago. I want her to give you the perspective of time, but also you need to learn from her how to travel great distances. She died in Albania and traveled all the way back to Hogwarts. She will tell you as much of her tale as she is willing to share. It would be best if you didn't mention her to the Bloody Baron… or the other way 'round."

That was certainly mysterious. As the newest ghost, I would have been in a much better position if I had paid more attention to the various ghosts of Hogwarts, while still a living student. I am ashamed to admit that I saw them as annoying nuisances to be avoided, not to mention more than a tad pathetic. Now I was that pathetic half-live creature and not even a fully-fledged ghost. It made me feel a bit less pathetic to hear Dumbledore describe us as the true guardians of Hogwarts. If I liked being a ghost, I might be looking after the students of Hogwarts, long after Dumbledore was gone.

The next day was a Myrtle day and I told her about what Dumbledore had said. I also mentioned my plan to spy on Snape from within his head.

"Helena is sad, but very, very kind," Myrtle told me. "She sometimes visits me in my bathroom or the Prefects' bath. She is ever so deep and she knows so much Hogwarts history. Dumbledore is right – we ghosts do have an important role at Hogwarts. When you know her better, perhaps Helena will tell you about the ghost revolt, which drove out an evil headmaster. That was way before my time. I'd like to be brave enough to be that heroic. I've thought about what Helena and I can do to make changes. I think it takes fully-alive Witches and Wizards to help us. That probably takes money. My family was poor. I never had money and even if I did, there would be no way to get it out of Gringotts, would there."

"Harry!" The name just burst from my lips, startling both Myrtle and me.

"Yes?"

"Harry would help us, if I convinced him we were doing something important. I have, at least I had, money. I'm sure Harry would share."

"You give me hope. We must decide what must be done and what we can do. I hear things. The pipes go everywhere. Harry is important. That's what the professors say. We must help him."

"Good." Really, that's all I could think of as a reply. It didn't matter. Myrtle's mind had skipped off to a new topic.

"I know where Professor Snape's Hogwarts apartment is. All of the professor's apartments have their own toilets, so we can go there whenever we want. Professor Snape has a house outside Hogwarts, but he's here this summer. I will take you there, after he is asleep. Of course you must enter his head. I think I will try that myself. You're right, I've spent entirely too much time skulking around bathrooms. Tonight Snape and tomorrow we meet with Helena. Voldemort must be stopped. Did you know that he killed me as well as you. With you and Helena, I can be brave and strong enough to have my revenge. The great thing about being a ghost is that all of the living see us as nothing more than harmless nuisances or strange beings to laugh at."

"I want to be as full of strength as possible, when I confront Snape," I told Myrtle. "Come with me to Harry's bed, where we can recharge. I'll share the story of Snape and me. Did you know that he poisoned Draco?"

Myrtle was hooked and led me through the pipes to Gryffindor. As we popped up through one of the toilets in the boys' dorm, Myrtle told me "this is so much nicer than when the students are here. Sometimes… I arrive just as a student has done a number two and it passes right through my head. I'm material enough that I do notice the smell. One just can't help feeling a bit soiled."

I led her straight to Harry's bed. I spend half an hour telling her the whole Snape tale, before I drifted off to sleep. I awoke to Myrtle emitting a very high-pitched shrill. "I debated letting you sleep, but it's time to go, if we want to ambush Snape."

Snape was asleep, when we reached his bed chamber. Both Myrtle and I managed to squeeze into his head at the same time. Stealing thoughts wasn't easy. Stealing memories was impossible, or at least neither of us knew how to go about it. I did a little better at this game than Myrtle did, but neither of us caught more than fleeting images of Snape's dream.

I was mortified. Snape was dreaming about me. It was the me of the end of last term, but it was a me devoid of any clothing. Certainly Snape had never seen me without clothes. How could he have? I have a scar on my left side, from when Dudley slashed me with his pocket knife. He paid dearly for that and never did anything like that ever again, but I still bore the scar from that attack. I kept hoping that Snape would dream of my naked body in a position where I could see whether the imaginary me bore the same scar as the real me. I missed most of the dream content as I focused upon searching for the scar. I just had to know if Snape had seen me without my clothes. Dream me finally turned – no scar! I was so relieved. I told Myrtle that I had to leave Snape. Even the little bit of dream I had taken in was just too much for me.

"I don't blame you. He really is a nasty, dirty old man," Myrtle commiserated with me. "It's the professor's job to protect the students as well as to teach them. If you want revenge on Snape, I'll help. I'm sure Helena will also want to help."

Myrtle promised that in two days, I would meet Helena. I was half day dreaming my way through the next day's lesson with Nick, when the Baron dropped a bombshell. "How do you suppose I have these snazzy clothes I fly around the school with? I could be practically naked as you are, with just that shimmer around you. We shape our appearance with thought. I floated in front of a mirror and focused and modified until I had exactly the image I wanted, then I froze it in place."

"The summer's almost over. Why did nobody think to tell me this sooner?"

"You were too weak to do the job properly and I worried that you would be too ashamed if I mentioned your half-naked appearance. I think you are now strong enough to clothe your image to fit your own desire. We'll quit early today, so you can work on that."

I traveled straight to Draco's bed to rest and gain strength, while I thought how I wanted to look when Harry and Draco returned to Hogwarts. I wanted to appear in Gryffindor robes, but thought that would seem like a betrayal to Draco. Perhaps not the everyday Slytherin class robes. Slytherin had really classy formal robes. The green piping almost sparkled like so many emeralds. And, there was a green tophat, with black trim. And green spats. Yes, that is what I would do.

After a reasonable rest, I stood before the mirror in the corner of Draco's dorm room. Yes, the shimmer didn't conceal me very well. It hadn't been an issue at the start of the summer, when I was basically formless, just a barely detectable shimmer. As I had added strength and form, I had also added the need for more substantial clothes. Why hadn't I examined myself in a mirror much sooner. Retrospective embarrassment still stings.

It took me the rest of the day, but at least a shadowy depiction of the appearance I wanted stared back at me from the mirror. I would work on adding vividness and definition. I slotted a half hour of mirror work at the start of my daily schedule. I would work hard, there were only two weeks left until the students returned.

I had a very good night's rest, residing within the keystone of the arch surrounding the door to Dumbledore's office. The Baron was wrong, the magic was much stronger here than in the keystone of the entry door to the castle.

I awoke with a great sense of anticipation. I was going to meet Helena Ravenclaw, the oldest female ghost at Hogwarts. I hurried off to Myrtle's bathroom. Helena was already there, happily chattering away with Myrtle.

"Sorry, can't stay long. I don't want the Baron to see me. What can I tell you? How did we get back home from God-forsaken, bloody Albania. It was far more primitive a thousand years ago than today. The short story is that we hitched a ride inside the skull of a second level, whose father preferred Hogwarts to Durmstrang. It took us over a month to make the journey. The young fool must have had all of two weeks at home, before he needed to return. When the headmaster greeted our young man, the lad takes a huge breath of early morning Scottish air and announces 'it's great to be back, the fresh Hogwarts air has totally driven away the awful head cold I've had the past month.' Of course, the Baron and I had just vacated his skull. We can shrink and fit, but that doesn't mean our presence was totally unnoticeable. The lad just didn't know enough to suspect the truth. I think one ghost could travel totally undetected.

"Myrtle told me of your budding conspiracy. I'm in. Anything for a little excitement and that Voldemort is horrible. Awful as Tom Riddle, worse as Voldemort. Just one little correction to your planning. Your revenge upon Snape must wait. He is protecting Harry. No revenge until after Harry graduates. Revenge long savored is revenge most thoroughly enjoyed. We'll speak more later."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three – Hajar Aloui**

The schedule of my final summer week was disrupted by the arrival of Professor McGonagall. I had slept inside Dumbledore's head, so I met them at the same time he did. There was a knock at his door, Dumbledore stirred to awakeness and I hastened to abandon his cranium.

I saw the young woman with Professor McGonagall, but did not identify her as Hajar, even though I had been wondering why it was taking Professor McGonagall so long to find Hajar and bring her to Hogwarts. The think is, Hajar did not look at all like a ghost. She walked into Dumbledore's on her two legs, rather than floating. I was certain of this, since her dress did not reach all the way to the floor. The other shocker was that she looked remarkably solid. After Professor McGonagall introduced her, I could see that she wasn't quite as solid and precisely fine-detailed as a real person – the best I can do to describe it is that she looked like a very detailed Muggle portrait, which you had to enlarge and get really close to, before you noticed a certain graininess. The color of her clothes was vivid. The color of her skin was a bit darker than that of the Marcon twins. She shared the twins' brown eyes and black hair. Dumbledore shook her hand. It seemed as though there was real substance there, that Dumbledore could feel her and his hand did not just pass through hers. She was a very strange ghost.

"I hope you've come to teach me how to do what you're doing right now," I babbled. "You don't look like a ghost. From five feet away you look like a normal Witch. Do you mind if I pass through you?"

She nodded assent and I drifted through her. It felt unlike passing through a ghost, almost like passing through an actual person.

"How long can you stay?" I tried to ask this without too much of a begging tone. I wanted her to stay for as long as it took for me to become like her.

"I am to be a member of the faculty and assist in teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. I am prepared to devote a great deal of time to teaching you to present a more corporeal self. That is one of the advantages of being a young enough Witch to still retain your wild magic, when you are ghosted. It's different for Wizards. I know two male ghosts with wild magic. They are not corporeal, but they are fierce fire starters. I had met only one other like myself. I am happy to welcome you as the third member of a very exclusive club."

"Perhaps I should explain," Professor McGonagall broke into our conversation. "Headmaster Dumbledore recruited that blithering idiot Gilderoy Lockhart to teach the Defense course. I don't see how he can possibly last out the first month, so I assured Hajar that there was a place for her on the Hogwarts faculty. She can be a visiting professor. She taught at the Iberian Magical Academy. They have only four professors and thirty students. I trust the Ministry can find someone to send to Spain in Ms. Aloui's stead."

Dumbledore seemed a little surprised by her presumptuousness, but he did not object and welcomed Hajar to Hogwarts. He commented as an aside "since Tom Riddle was turned down for the post, it has become something of a Hogwarts tradition that the Defense teacher never lasts beyond one year. I try to recruit those I won't develop a sentimental attachment for. I don't think I'll shed a tear when Gilderoy moves on."

I saw that Hajar wore a wand in a leather holster strapped to her right thigh. It was a different look. More importantly, it suggested that I could learn to make use of my old wand.

"When can we begin our studies?" I asked her.

"Let me get settled in, then we can begin your lessons after lunch."

"You eat?" I spluttered.

"I can hold a little food within my space. Of course I can't digest it. I eliminate it as soon as I am alone, but eating together is a way of establishing emotional ties among people, so I sort of eat to blend it more successfully."

"And I can learn that?"

"In due time, you very possibly can. It took me several decades to learn the trick, but I didn't have a teacher as good as myself. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"Thank you," I gave McGonagall a wispy hug. "I'm feeling more optimistic than I have since Professor Quirrell murdered me."

"No, you were murdered by Voldemort," Dumbledore corrected me. "He was controlling Quirrell's mind."

"No, Harry spoke to Professor Quirrell. Quirrell was a true believer in Voldemort and fully in control of his own mind."

"Well, this isn't the time to debate those semantics. Let's just put it down to a bad hire by an old Wizard who was in too great a rush to fill the last position on staff."

I took that very strong hint and drifted out of Dumbledore's office.

I met Hajar outside the Great Hall, right after lunch. She spoke mainly of where a poltergeist must draw its magical power from. I didn't have enough body to visualize gathering power from within my wispy self and projecting it by wild magic, as I had learned to do the pushback curse. Even pretending to throw an overhand punch hadn't helped much. That is because what works for a young Witch doesn't work for my current unsubstantial self.

We spent two days practicing drawing in magical power from my surroundings. Then I spent two days learning to expel that accumulated magical power in a controlled stream. It made a huge difference. I could blow portraits off the wall. I could knock over suits of armor. I could make Professor McGonagall hair blow out in streams behind her, as if she were walking into a stiff breeze. I felt a returning sense of my own power and capability.

On day five Hajar approached me cautiously "I don't want to put you on the outs with your fellow ghosts or push you too terribly far outside your comfort zone, but you really need to work with Peeves. Peeves is a Poltergeist, like us. He was a young Wizard with wild magic when he died. He died before Hogwarts was founded and has been at Hogwarts from the start. It would be malpractice for me to allow you to overlook any help Peeves might provide. I spoke to him last evening. He is willing to help. What you need to know about Peeves is that he is so old, that he never had any wand training whatsoever."

Okay, I could meet with Peeves. Peeves was actually polite, accepting both Hajar and me as members of an elite club, of which he was the head. He refined my technique for drawing in power. He taught me to expel that power through a single finger. I practiced very hard with him for two days, as Hajar watched and judged my progress. Sometimes Peeves would say something which was new to Hajar and she would practice it alongside me.

I was bursting with curiosity about one subject. "Hajar told me that Wizards who become ghosts when their wild magic is still intact, have tremendous skills as fire-starters. I don't associate you with fire."

Peeves pointed a finger and sent a wall of flame coursing down the corridor to bounce off the wall at the other end. "Dumbledore doesn't approve. Made me promise not to do it. We have a truce. That was just a demonstration to further your training." He laughed as he floated away.

"Why didn't you tell me about Peeves right away," I asked Hajar.

"I didn't know about him, until yesterday. I spent hardly any time at Hogwarts after I became a Poltergeist. As you have perhaps observed from the behavior of Myrtle and the Grey Lady, the Witch ghosts have not been happily welcomed into the Hogwarts ghost fraternity by the Wizard ghosts. When last I haunted Hogwarts, I wasn't nearly this corporeal. Peeves knew I was a Poltergeist as soon as he saw me. It took until yesterday for him to decide to approach me. Perhaps we can encourage him to also accept Helena and Myrtle."

I thought than an excellent idea.

My final day of learning, before the arrival of the Hogwarts Express, was devoted to making myself more substantial. This involved drawing in power and trying to use that power to refine my appearance. I practiced standing in front of the mirror in Draco's dorm room. I achieved only a small improvement. Actually, my voice improved quite a lot, but my appearance was only slightly more substantial.

"Get a good night's rest," Hajar told me. "You have a big day tomorrow and I have to finish preparing for the Defense class. Professor Lockhart arrived an hour ago. He was not pleased to find me here. I believe I threaten him. He tried to obliviate my memory. I had to patiently explain why that doesn't work with a Poltergeist. He might as well try to obliviate a dragon"

"May I ask you a question before you go. Why have you and all the other ghosts and Poltergeists been so friendly and helpful to me?"

"I like you and there aren't many like us. We need to band together and protect each other. There is no telling when former friends will see us as too different and join together to destroy us. That is the lesson I carry from the Spain of my youth. For the others - they like your story and they're doing their job. The Hogwarts headmaster is very powerful. It's often up to the ghosts to act when the headmaster forces Hogwarts in the wrong direction. Many of your ghosts have been here forever. In their core, they are Hogwarts. They thought the headmaster mistreated you and they wanted to help. Also, being so small makes you more sympathetic. I was always very tall for my age. It's harder. Goodnight."

Since I expected to spend the term alternating between Draco's and Harry's beds, I spent the night sleeping in the keystone at the entry to Dumbledore's office. I felt very sure that both Harry and Draco would be pleasantly surprised by how much I had managed to improve myself in their absence. I had avoided the waking Snape. He also would be surprised to see the new me, but probably not pleasantly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four – The Arrival of the Hogwarts Express**

I awoke feeling totally refreshed and so strong that I was determined to meet Harry and Draco as they left the Express. It was understood that this was a very important day for me and that I would not have any lessons. Still, I would have a very long wait for the Express – it always arrived in the dark. I wanted to make a good impression, so I spent hours in front of the mirror making myself look as bright and solid as I possibly could.

I took a mid-afternoon nap to preserve my strength. Spending a long time outside the castle was still a worry for me. What could I do if none of my ghost friends was with me and my strength failed. Harry and Draco would try to help, but what could they do? The sensible thing was to persuade Nick to come with me, but I wanted to meet Harry and Draco with as much privacy as possible. I knew I would become totally emotional. My educated-ghost self had never been highly emotional and I didn't know what problems that would cause for me. Could I hold my new form. Would my behavior be viewed as disgraceful by my ghost friends? Getting all blubbery over two fully-alive humans wasn't the done thing. We were supposed to have moved on to a new life, with new delights and responsibilities. My new friends fully understood my desire to protect Harry and Draco. That was honorable. But blubbering, did that have a place in my new world? I heard the whispers. Helena's and the Baron's partially clinging to their long ago past as humans was not viewed as the done thing.

My problem was solved for me by Dumbledore. He assigned Hajar greet-the-Express duties. She would watch out for me and she wouldn't laugh or tell tales if I totally fell apart when I saw Harry and Draco.

I took a quick final half hour in front of the mirror to tweak my image, then accompanied Hajar and Hagrid to the train siding. Hagrid remarked upon not seeing me for a long while. I apologized, explaining that I was still gaining strength and a little scared to venture to his cottage alone. He promised to visit me in the castle. Hajar seemed to read my mind, pointedly assuring me "It's fine for Poltergeists to show emotion. When we have no emotion and no curiosity, that is when we are truly dead. Duty is not enough."

I didn't have long to ponder this thought, as the plume of coal smoke from the Express was already visible. The time from the Express screeching to a stop and the first student stepping down seemed far longer than it had last summer. Draco was the sixth student off the train. I raced up to him. He divided his luggage between Goyle and Crabbe and walked to me.

"Did you see that? I spotted you right away. You have become a proper ghost since I last wasn't able to actually see you. I can't tell you how great it is to be able to see you again."

"I can also talk loudly enough to be heard, even above the noise of this mob."

"Yes, you are much stronger, but let's move away from the crowd so you don't have to strain to be heard." He turned and walked toward a large bush.

I started to follow him and then objected.

"I want to wait for Harry," I told him as I gave him as much of a hug as my wispy self could manage.

"We have to talk," Draco told me as he again led me away from the train at a brisk walk. I was filled with terror. This could only mean bad news about Harry.

"What's the matter with Harry?" I demanded to know.

"I don't know. He wasn't on the train. Neither was Ron. Hermione convinced Harry to spend the last week of summer at the Weasleys. I asked about Harry. Hermione and the other Weasleys were on the train. They said that Harry and Ron were with them at the station, but talking between themselves and hanging back a little. When it was time to board the train, Hermione noticed that Harry and Ron were missing. They checked on the Muggle side of the station, but they weren't there either. Hermione just made it back onto the Express as it was pulling out. This is a serious time, but you can't imagine how funny it was, watching Hermione trying to climb onto the train as it was moving faster and faster. I had to give her a hand up. Nobody knows where Harry is. We have to talk to Dumbledore."

"We can get help from my new friend Hajar. She's a professor and a Poltergeist."

"Okay, but please just come behind this bush and listen to me first. There is a lot you need to know, before you talk to Dumbledore or this Hajar. Some strange stuff happened this summer. Harry and I learned that my father really is a Death Eater. He wasn't ever Imperiused, at least not until after the last war ended. We overheard father talking to a couple of Death Eater visitors. I knew something was wrong. Mother vanished as soon as she saw them walking up to the door. I know how to act as if I haven't noticed what I couldn't help noticing. I thought Harry was doing a good job, but perhaps he slipped and father found him out. I've had to become an excellent actor, living with my parents. You can't ever let your guard down."

"I'm sure Harry did fine. We had to be great actors to survive the Dursleys. I warned Harry that he must pretend not to see whatever he discovered at your parents' house. Do you think your father harmed Harry?"

"He couldn't have. I was with him the whole time at the station. But he has friends who could have done something to Harry and Ron. There is no telling what father would do if he thought Harry could prove he's a Death Eater. There was other strange stuff. Father wasn't even at home when it happened."

"Quick, just give me the most important bits. I want to find Hajar and Dumbledore."

"Okay, Hermione visited the week before Harry left. Ron refused to come. That's when strange stuff kept happening. Harry showed me a threatening note he found under his pillow. The note said that if Harry tried to return to Hogwarts, he would die. Then a day later Harry was coming down the stairs from the bedrooms and his whole leg went through a stair. The railing saved him. Next day, the dining room chandelier falls and smashes Harry's hand as he's reaching for more steak. Mother was able to fix his hand well enough, but two serious accidents in two days… it's not like the Manor is some sort of wreck. Then another note under his pillow. 'See what can happen if you go to Hogwarts.' Harry was rattled when he left for the Weasleys.

"Then I got this owl note from Hermione."

He handed me the paper. I was able to keep it from dropping long enough to read: 'What did you do to Harry? He says his troubles started at your house. There is a threat every day saying he can't return to Hogwarts. He was nearly killed yesterday. Stop this right now or I will do things to you that I don't want to do to any sentient being. – A VERY pissed-off Hermione'. Of course I haven't shown this note to anyone. My father doesn't much like me, but I'm his and he would go berserk if he found out that a Muggle-born girl, who had been a guest at his home, dared to threaten me. It would be just about the ultimate insult. He thinks the whole Wizarding world must show its respect to us."

I dropped the paper. It takes a lot of control to hold something that heavy. I was upset, but not too upset too tell Draco not to destroy the paper, as he picked it up and pointed his wand at it. I led Draco to where Hajar was directing the students in an orderly double-line as they walked to the castle.

"Something has happened to Harry. We must find Dumbledore! Oh, this is Draco Malfoy."

We hastened to Dumbledore's office. "Harry Potter is missing," Hajar told Dumbledore.

Draco told the whole story, even handing over the note from Hermione.

"Please ask Miss Granger to come to my office," Dumbledore instructed Hajar. He soothed us with "this is very powerful magic, but if the practitioner of this magic wanted Harry dead, then Harry would be dead. I think that the culprit is actually trying to protect Harry. If Emako weren't so upset, I'd think she was responsible. Poltergeists have more power than we credit. We will learn what Hermione knows and then, if need be, we will search for Harry in London as inconspicuously as possible."

Hajar led Hermione into the office. She glared at Draco. "What did you do to Harry and Ron."

"Relax, Miss Granger, I don't believe Mr. Malfoy had…"

"Oh," Draco interrupted him. "I almost forgot. Ronald Weasley is also missing."

"Hmm."

"Harry found out that Lucius Malfoy really is a Death Eater. That's why…"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy and Emako have just told me as much. I know you are VERY pissed-off, but you are a creature of logic and must know that these were warnings, not attempts to actually kill Harry. The magic was far too powerful not to kill him, if that was its aim."

"But, why warn Harry. And why show Dumbledore my note, you traitor."

"I don't know what danger someone believes awaits Mr. Potter at Hogwarts, apart from a long detention. As to the second part, Mr. Malfoy correctly assumed that this was something his headmaster needed to know."

That silenced Hermione. We were all startled as Snape strode into the office without knocking."

"Potter and young Weasley have just crash landed a flying Muggle car in the Whacking Willow. The Willow won the fight, but it sustained grievous harm. The miscreants are with Madam Pomphrey. I will bring them to you when she is finished with them."

Dumbledore waited until Snape departed to announce "I think we shall go to them."

As we walked to the infirmary, Hermione gave a detailed account of everything which happened after she and Harry left Malfoy Manor for The Burrow.

"There were vile threatening notes… bed collapsed…shoved in lake…invisible hand pushed him off his broom… bad dreams…feeling of DREAD…it was awful. I don't know how Harry could be brave enough to come back to Hogwarts."

I earned a nasty look for replying "where else could Harry go?"

It was such a relief to see Harry. He looked fine – faint white lines where Madam Pomphrey fixed deep cuts, but he was fine. I threw myself onto him. I floated into his skull, trying to radiate happy thoughts and love. Hajar taught me how to do this. As I floated back out of Harry's head, he said "it's good to see you too, Emako. There is a lot more of you to see. It's wonderful to see you so much improved."

"It's also good that you weren't killed," I told Ron.

"Yes, it is," Hermione mumbled, averting her eyes from Harry for a brief moment.

Harry told us the same story Draco and Hermione had told, with the addition that the Platform 9-3/4 barrier had refused to admit them. They had borrowed Mr. Weasley's pet car and somehow flown it to Hogwarts.

"Arthur truly is a marvel," Dumbledore exclaimed. "I neglected to adjust Hogwarts' magical barriers for this sort of magical attack. I'll remedy that oversight at once. How could I possibly have known? Magic wrapped inside a huge chunk of metal. You would have been far likelier to fly into Hogwarts atop a stone statue. Oh, and one week of detention for exposing Muggles to a flying car and a second week for being too stupid to ask one of Ron's parents to apparate you to Hogsmeade."

Hajar and Madam Pomphrey followed Dumbledore. At last we were free of adult supervision.

"So what really happened, Harry" I asked.

"It's like I said, threats and a long string of impossible accidents. I never once saw a wand pointed at me. Nobody was present for all the accidents, so not even a silent, wandless curse is likely. I'm certain I was alone when I almost fell through the stairs at Malfoy manor. It makes no sense at all. I checked for notes under my pillow before I went to bed. One night I pretended to sleep and forced myself to remain alert for hours. Nobody entered my room. When I was too tired to continue my vigil, I reached under my pillow and found another note."

"Draco could have done it," Ron declared.

"Big house, we don't share rooms," Draco replied. "I also had strange things happen to me. I fell down and broke my leg – twice. One of Harry's warning notes said 'protect Draco Malfoy, don't return to Hogwarts. That was the last note, before Harry went to stay with you."

"Did anything strange happen to you?" I asked Hermione.

"No. Whatever bedeviled Harry and Draco did not disturb me. What they describe sounds like Elf magic to me. Elves have very powerful magic. Your family own a House Elf doesn't it, Draco?"

"Dobby has been with us as long as I've been alive. He was my best friend, before I came to Hogwarts. I can't imagine him breaking my leg – or attacking Harry. Dobby is not exactly what you'd call a self-directed being. He follows my parents' orders and sometimes mine. Actually, he was friendlier than usual to me this summer and he seemed to like Harry. In the past he often told me what mother wanted me to do. He was really cool this summer. I can't believe he would hurt either of us."

Bang!

"Dobby not mean to hurt Master or Harry Potter. Dobby try to save lives. Hogwarts be great danger. All go home now."

"I'm a Poltergeist. I intend to protect Harry and Draco. You can help me."

"Dobby can't stay. Dobby be missed. Dobby do too much, must punish. Master must not tell on Dobby."

"I won't tell," Draco promised. "I really don't know why I shouldn't tell mother, but I won't. I'd like more of an explanation, if you please."

The little Elf got a really good running start, lowered his head, and crashed into the wall of the infirmary. Everyone rushed over to see if Dobby had survived this action, but we heard a soft pop and he was gone.

"That was really strange," Draco told us. "I don't really know how old Dobby is. Do you suppose that's how Elves go 'off' when they get really old?"

"Or we could all be in great danger," Hermione reminded us. "Do we tell Dumbledore?"

"Nah!" We all answered in unison.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five – Time With My Twin**

Harry spent the night in the infirmary, so I slept in Draco's bed. I didn't consider myself a substantial enough Poltergeist for this to constitute undue hanky panky. I just wanted some alone time with Draco, both because I needed it emotionally and because I felt I couldn't adequately protect Draco and Harry, unless I had a much better understanding of what happened over the summer.

"You glossed over it, but it must have been a huge emotional hit to learn that your father had lied to you and always really was a Death Eater. That's a lot more serious than learning that he only pretended to like mashed turnips so that you would eat them. That just can't be as trivial as you are trying to pretend."

"In a way it is. In the back of my mind I think I always suspected he was lying about being Imperiused. He has always had that Death Eater air of superiority about him. You know that I've never really loved and always been more than a little afraid of father. He's always seen his duty as my father to toughen me up to be a far tougher Wizard than I think I could ever be. Do you know how I spent the summer, when I was nine? I literally begged for food and a place to sleep. Father announced that he and I were going on a father-son camping trip on Skye. He apparated us to a beautiful remote spot, set up a small tent, unpacked two days of food, and told me to get back home as soon as I could. He left me a knife and a fishing rod. He said 'a true pure-blood Wizard can easily deal with this.'Of course I didn't have my wand yet and father had never taught me to fish. Before I could even ask a question, he apparated away, leaving me on my own. I didn't cry, but only part of me thought this was an elaborate trap to allow father to return and catch me crying, so he could use the Cruciatus on me again."

"That's horrible! At least you made it back."

"Yes, no thanks to father. Skye is an island. The only way I could get off it was to turn myself in to the authorities as a lost child or persuade a family to let me travel with them on the ferry. I knew I couldn't possibly contact the authorities. Father would be furious and I would really pay for that. It took me a day to make my way to the ferry and two more days to latch onto a family of friendly Muggles – I told them I lived outside Glasgow. They were going near there and went out of their way to drop me off in front of what I said was my house. I rang the doorbell and asked the lady who answered if I could use her phone. I had to. The friendly family wouldn't drive away until I was inside the house."

"But you were able to thumb a ride home from their?"

"It wasn't quite that easy. There are some weird, nasty Muggles who offer rides to little boys. I don't want to talk about that. I'll just say that it was really bad and that once I had to use my fire magic and burned both the man and his house. Believe me, he deserved it. I was his prisoner for over a week. When I finally got home, father pulled out his calendar and said 'that took you twenty-seven days, not so good. You'll do better next time.' I almost burned our house down, but father knew the magic to put the fire out before it burned much more than the chair father was sitting in. Crucio for that one."

Poor Draco!

"I'm really sorry I forced you relive such a nasty memory. Let's move on to what happened this summer. There are still thinks I need to understand better if I am to help you and Harry. Could you father have figured out that you and Harry discovered he's a Death Eater?"

"No, I don't think so. He's not a legilimens and Harry and I were very careful. Besides, father is not good at hiding his anger and that would have made him very angry."

"Good, that makes me feel safer for you. The notes and all the strange accidents – could that all be Elf magic?"

"I don't know. Dobby was in charge of me, not the other way round most of my life. We didn't learn about Elf magic last year, other than a mention that it was different than ours and could be quite strong. I guess it's possible."

"You don't think your father could have been responsible?"

"Possibly, although I was quite sure he was away from home for much of it and it just doesn't feel like something father would do. Harry left Malfoy Manor on good terms and did not seem very upset. He seemed more upset when we saw him in the infirmary. I don't think his week with the Weasley's went well. Ronald Weasley is not the sort of young Wizard who makes good decisions. They are lucky to be alive, although I wouldn't have thought Weasleys capable of such a stunt. I am somewhere between being a little awed and realizing the Weasley is even stupider than I thought."

"Okay, I think we've covered what I need to know. It's really great to see you and be this close to you again…"

And it was good to see him again, although… my non-corporeal state made him of less use as a boyfriend and I was sure I was a most inadequate girlfriend. When I left Draco in the morning, I felt very guilty. I wasn't a real girl, so I couldn't be a real girlfriend, and my presence only prevented Draco from looking for a far more suitable replacement.

My day was productive. I think all of the professors realized how bittersweet the students' return was for me and sought to keep me busy. Dumbledore wanted to see me right after breakfast. Professor McGonagall was in his office when I arrived. They wanted me to be a well-educated Poltergeist. I could attend classes with Harry and Draco. I couldn't be obvious about it, but the Hogwarts ghosts were often in the classrooms, I could make myself invisible, and the whole school knew I often followed Harry or Draco around the corridors. I would have to practice the wand exercises outside of class. I could try the charms and transfigurations without a wand in class, if I did so secretly. Yes… they were a little afraid of what happened to Harry and Ron over the summer. When I told them about Draco and his father, they also seemed worried about Draco.

I was to continue weekly private lessons with Dumbledore, in addition to continuing my private tutoring with Hajar. Honestly, Hajar was so helpful, I didn't think Dumbledore could add much. I relented, without raising this concern, when the old headmaster told me "it's been days since you slept in my head. I miss you."

Dumbledore saw me interacting with Fawkes and told me "you could sleep inside Fawkes. I'm told it's an excellent way for a ghost to recharge."

"I wouldn't wish to impose on a creature who is unable to say no," I told Dumbledore. "Besides, Fawkes has an awfully small head. I fear one of us would be injured."

"It's possible. Please consider it. Peaves has done it and neither he nor Fawkes suffered ill effect."

How would one tell with Peeves. I'd consider. I'd consider for a very long time before I agreed to this proposal. Fawkes was Dumbledore's familiar. It would be an easy way to make me disappear. I'm not sure Dumbledore has totally abandoned that thought.

Professor McGonagall promised "private transfiguration lessons, if you feel you need them, or really just a talk, but only if you wish, dear." I promised to take her up on the offer.

I fluttered around Harry and Hermione at dinner. I couldn't help but notice how the first-year, red-haired Weasley first year dripped both food and pumpkin juice on herself as she stared at Harry and totally lost focus upon eating. A first-year boy to her non-Harry side was speaking to her, but she ignored him – really, I don't think she even noticed he was talking.

Harry and Hermione gave me a copy of their schedules. I had avoided classes today. I didn't want to appear as though I was stalking Draco. Poltergeists can be frightening and I didn't want to scare off any appropriate girls who fancied Draco. I had vowed to myself that I would make my appearances at Draco's classes rare.

I slept with Harry. It sounds naughty, but it wasn't. We did have a nice talk, before sleep. I asked Harry about the Weasley girl.

"She made the week at the Burrow difficult. Wouldn't speak to me, but followed Ron and me like a little puppy. I know she likes me and is too shy to say anything, but it's still very annoying. I wanted some alone time with Ron to play Quidditch. Of course Ginny also wanted to play Quidditch with us. Ron and I took a quick dip in the lake. Of course she was in the water as soon as we were. Her mother had to call her back into the house. It was getting really embarrassing. I didn't do anything, but Ron was actually annoyed with ME. Can you believe that? Really, I should have stayed at the Malfoys. I know it may be a little cruel, but I've decided that the only thing to do is to completely ignore her. If she says 'hi Harry', I may grunt, but that's it. Ron wants me to ignore her. She's his sister, so he probably knows best how to handle her."

I wasn't going to attend every class. I had too many individual classes and insufficient energy for that. I was curious to see how Hajar and Gilderoy Lockhart managed to share a classroom. I followed Harry and Hermione to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I stifled chuckles as Gilderoy spent the first class on a pop quiz about himself. There were twenty-five questions, after which he paused and with a gallant bow and sweep of his right arm invited Hajar to ask the class a few questions "in case I've missed anything of importance from my books."

"Thank you. Alright class! Question 26 – in how many countries of the world are there Witches and Wizards? Question 27 - Explain the difference between a ghost and a Poltergeist. Question 28 – You do realize that Christians burned people like you at the stake or hung them for witchcraft, don't you? So why are so many of you Church of England? I guess that does that, no wait, Question 29 – Would you rather learn about Professor Lockhart's favorite color, fruit, and cologne, or would you prefer to learn how to defend yourselves against the dark arts?"

"Since those last questions didn't relate to the assigned texts, I think I'll count them as extra credit – class dismissed… and so will you be, once I've spoken to the headmaster," Gilderoy hissed in a whisper at Hajar.

As Gilderoy stomped off to complain to Dumbledore, I told Hajar "too bad you're too solid, I'm going to float off and listen to Gilderoy and Dumbledore."

Hajar became as wispy as I am at my wispiest and followed me into the headmaster's office.

"Her last question was impertinent and a personal insult, suggesting that I don't value Defense Against the Dark Arts. My quiz was a sound test of reading comprehension. Too many students skip over the…"

"Fluff," Hajar finished for him. Your assigned texts are almost nothing but fluff. What reasonable person wouldn't skim as fast as they could?"

"This is my life you are talking about. When your accomplishments match mine, then…"

Hajar led us away. "It's time for your next lesson. I've realized what you must do differently if you have any hope of protecting Harry and Draco."

She certainly had my attention.

"Now that you are a Poltergeist, you've become very lazy with your wild magic pushback. You are too… too… let's say lacking in substance, for just a generalized pushback to cause an adult to do anything more than take a half step back to rebalance."

"I know I'm weak, but I'm gaining in strength every month."

"What if Harry or Draco were attacked tomorrow? What would you do? More importantly, what should you do? You can't become strong enough, quickly enough. You need to focus. You don't even have the focus you used to have with the overhand punch pushback method."

"Dumbledore told me to focus on generating power rather than precision. He said precision can come later."

"Dumbledore is very wrong. If you aim for the stomach and use your punch technique, you might just be strong enough to push an attacker a half step back AND knock the wind out of him. Put all your strength into a sweeping narrow push like this…" She swept her flat hand out, karate style and decapitated the suit of armor across the hall.

"Yes, I must learn that."

"Or…" she held out one hand, with two fingers thrust outward and gave a jab, which sent the rest of the armor rattling to the floor, "you could push the attacker back by his eyeballs and truly make an impression upon him."

"Teach me. Please! You really are angry, aren't you?"

I thought that Hajar and I spent a very profitable two hours together. I would practice those pushback on my own. For the first time, I truly believed that I might actually be able to rescue Draco or Harry.

Before my next Defense with Gilderoy and Hajar, I studied wild fire magic with Draco and Dumbledore, swam the pipes to the lake and back with Myrtle, learned long ago history from the Dark Lady, and practice carrying and dropping very small objects with Peeves. I was improving.

The second Defense class involved pixies. Class prep involved Gilderoy basically telling Hajar to remain seated and quiet. I don't know how Gilderoy found such amped up pixies, but they were truly feisty little devils, who quickly overwhelmed the students and then Gilderoy. As Gilderoy retreated to the corner of the room, Hajar drew her wand and swept it in a wide arc, sweeping all of those pesky pixies right back into their cage. She managed to levitate the re-locked cage and drop it right at Gilderoy's feet.

"Perhaps you can handle them now." She turned and declared "Class dismissed!"

Hajar and I both attended herbology with the Gryffindors. Hajar liked Neville and wanted to share a class he really enjoyed. Since she didn't officially have permission to be there, she stayed transparent. The Gryffindors were in a happy mood, until Gilderoy cornered Harry. No harm was being done, so we just let him blather. The class was mandrakes. Very shrill and very loud mandakes, which left several members of the class collapsed upon the floor of the greenhouse. It turns out that a shrieking mandrake doesn't harm a Poltergeist. It's not pleasant, but I could listen to the whole lot of them scream all day. Then again, why would I wish to do that?

Hajar solidified as soon as we left the greenhouse.

"That class has given me an idea," I told her, "if we could squeal in exactly the same pitch as those mandrakes do, it would make a terrific weapon and I don't think it would be very taxing. We could move right up to the ear of the person we wanted to drop."

"That is ingenious, but I'm not sure any creature other than a mandrake can make that particular sound."

"Can we at least practice and try to make it work."

"Of course we can. We'll shriek a little on our own, then sneak into the greenhouse and compare against the real thing. And… if Peeves could help me borrow a few potted mandrakes, even the smaller ones, we could place them in strategic spots inside the castle. I think even you are likely strong enough to ease one out of its pot."

I liked that idea.


End file.
